Lothran is now back in Bruma and Pale Pass is once again silent.


From this excursion he brought back one silver and one gold nugget, as well as three enchanted items he did not have in his collections before, one Frost ring included. He also brought back all the teeth from the slain ogres. Can someone give me the correct amount?

I have had this happen with enemies several times on PC, so in those cases I can blame their non-hostile behavior on mods (specifically MMM). But I also remember this happening 2 or three times on Playstation. It's just an oddity, a welcome one, in fact. Usually if some enemy doesn't attack, especially if it's an intelligent one like an NPC, my character actually lets him or her live. Depends, of course.

Answer: Lothran got 17 ogre teeth in total ----->


-------------

As new year approaches, Lothran is now as per usual guarding the north gate of Bruma. Prior to that he took several rounds to make sure the streets are safe. He will now safehold the north gate into next year.

Lothran is now resting in the guard quarters after another guard replaced him by the north gate.

Happy New Life to our Nordic Dunmer Warlock Guard!

Morndas, mid-afternoon, Frost Fall 14, 4th Era Year 1

It's mid-day, and Aerin from Valenwood (aka Lady Saga) walks from Valenwood back into Cyrodiil. She passes Skingrad. Maybe she'll stop there later on, for she has a few things she needs to barter, ingredients to smash into potions & poisons, and so on.

But first, she comes across a fight! A Colovian soldier battles away with a common road bandit, or so it seems. The bandit summons a scamp, making him not so common. The soldier is easily overwhelmed by the dual attacks he's now taking, so Saga commands her horse to halt. She summons a bear. And begins shooting arrows carefully at the bandit. Within a minute, the fight is over. And Saga is smiling. For she's been wanting to find somebody to travel with. Her previous Imperial Foresters (two of them) have both vanished at some point.


Colovian Guard: "We're here to serve. How can I help?"

Lady Saga: "Might I have a moment of your time?" I am Aerin of Valenwood. Fact of matter, but seems it was I who've helped you."

Colovian Guard: "You got me there."

Lady Saga: "Traveling the land I am toward Skingrad, Kvatch, then Anvil. I want to make thankings for thy duties."

She gives the man a handful of coin.

Colovian Guard: "Every little bit helps!"

Lady Saga: "As I intoned, I travel these roads. Travel the plains. And the forests. And as you are one for traveling the roads as well, might I persuade you to make travels with me?"

Colovian Guard: "It's a matter of trust. And I don't trust you enough, yet."

The elf gives the man another handful of coin.

Colovian Guard: "That will... get you something."

Lady Saga" "Will it get us from Skingrad, to Kvatch, to Anvil?"

Colovian Guard: "You want me to join your adventuring party?"

Lady Saga: "Please."

Colovian Guard; "I'd be honored! Let's get going."

As the party of one becomes a party of two, Aerin of Valenwood is surprised to see the soldier she's just hired leaves his horse behind.

-------------------------------------------

Note: She actually had to give the soldier quite a lot of coin before he'd follow her. Somewhere around 150 septims.

Is that Companion Share and Recruit? Their horse script doesn't always work... As for money... well... good on him!

Yes, that's CSR. Love that mod. I like it more than CM Partners, matter of fact. I use CSR for Saga's game, but CMP for Renee's game, just to give their worlds different feels.

Funny thing is (well, not really funny...) that guard she hired did not last long. The very first fight he faced was with an MMM monster. He rushed off to start slicing the thing with his Silver Sword, but the monster killed him within a few seconds. Saga summoned her bear, and her 10 rats, shot the thing with poisoned arrows, but it was no use.

This is why I like getting generic NPCs to follow her though. At least it was not a named person who died.

Did Saga get her 150 Septims back?

Nah, I bet he spent it all already. Lots of opportunities for that in the middle of nowhere while fighting goblins and whatnot! :

Yep, she did get her money back! Mm hmm.

Lothran has now gone off-duty and is sitting downstairs in his home. He needs to brew some potions and poisons again and hopefully he won't be short one ingredient like last year.

Frost Fall 16, late afternoon, First Era Year 1

Days Passed: 416

Lady Saga is in Skingrad, and is about to delve into Cursed Mine. She walks to her horse first, which is where all her travel gear is stored. She changes out of her town clothes. She then selects a dark shirt, gauntlets which allow her to detect life up to 65 feet away, ranger-styled greaves, and Elven boots which improve her ability to sneak.

All of that sorted, she then selects her bow. She's got about a dozen bows stored on her horse's back nowadays, as well as two crossbows, and one slingshot. Today, she's specifically looking at the bows. Hmm. She can choose a black bow. Or a silver bow. Or a bow made of finely-crafted iron, or one made of Dwemer metal, and so on.

She selects her bow made of ebony, which she had found some months ago, but cannot remember where. Yeah, this is just the thing to penetrate the light armor of Cursed Mine's bandits! ... She also brings along most of the potions and poisons she's just made. Recently she's gotten good enough at alchemy that she's been able to discern three effects with each ingredient, rather than two.

Ready she is, and off she goes, as the sun begins to set to the west. To her left and right, winery workers end their daily shifts. On the road before her, a couple of sheep follow Uuras the Shepherd. These are the townsfolk who will benefit the most of Aerin's coming actions.

_^__^__^__^__^__^__^_

Early Evening

"Greetings Khajiit," says the Breton wearing a robe.

"What's going on with youuu?"

"I'm not saying Colovians are dumb," says the red-haired Breton. "They're just hard-headed."

"Go away fool. Do not come back!"

As the pair of Cursed Mine bandits begins to argue, a shadowy figure creeps up from a nearby passage. The figure does something with her hands, and the sound of an arrow stretching bowstring can clearly be heard.

"Fine, be that way!" says the Breton.

"I need to cut down on de ale," says the Khajiit, his ears perking up. "Starting to hear things, I am."

It's the last thing he says in a conversational way. Two second later, he feels something slam within his side. As the unmistakable feel of poison begins to swirl within his veins, he falls to the ground. Tries to get up. By then, most of his health is gone.

"You elves are all the same, all flash, and no fury!" the second bandit declares, somehow able to see that the shadowy figure is an elf. She raises her bow, and tries to aim into darkness. But all she can see is something coming toward her. Something big. "ROOAOW!" it says.

It's a bear. A bear has suddenly appeared, out of nowhere. That's when the Breton bandit knows, it is Lady Saga who has snuck within their domain. The lady notices her furry partner has not began his assault It's because he is already dead. "Come at me, you pathetic worm!" she screams.

And those are the last words she'll ever scream. As the bear begins pummeling her and a hoarde of rats begin to surround, she fires her last arrow into the darkness. But the elf who'd been there is already gone.

Lady Saga has quite the collection of bows! I think she might have more of them than Imelda Marcos had shoes...

The last thing that went through Khajiit's mind was Lady Saga's arrow? No, it was a bear and a horde of rats!

Yes, It's always fun choosing whichever bow or crossbow she's going to use next.

Just another boring evening at the entrance to Cursed Mine. Peacefull that is until Lady Saga rides up.

150 Septims to hire a guard? Wow, that’s almost half a year’s wages for them.

And into Cursed Mine. I guess those bandits learned how appropriate the mine’s name is, courtesy of elf in the shadows.

*

Happy potion brewing to Lothran in his cozy home.

macole-- Very true. I imagine the lives of bandits especially can get rather dull, especially for those who live in far-off locations which can't get ale or skooma delivered very often. See, this is why it's fun to play a skooma dealer. My first character on PC is a merchant who deals skooma.

Acadian-- Saga makes so much money, even with Enhanced Economy paring down her loot to a great degree. She has to blow it on something! ... I imagine those guards and soldiers she hires get really psyched whenever she comes walking along. A lot of them know who my elf is by now, as they travel about, trading stories about this blonde elf who hires them on the spot.


That would be fun if Lothran and Saga traded brewing tips.

They very well could, I imagine.

Lothran is now home again after an excursion west past Hermaeus Mora's shrine and the daedra that always resides on the road there. This time it was a Daedroth. As mighty as it seems, it was child's play for my Spriggan who is used to fighting ogres and the Daedroth was quickly dispatched of.

Along the way the Dunmer picked up seeds from the Milk Thistle. It's an ingredient that relatively recently has been added to the roster and is therefore easily overlooked as opposed to the other ingredients that Lothran has used for many, many years.

Right, I can't remember what milk thistle is used for, pretty sure we can make Light magic with it. Saga never uses this stuff in potions, she just eats them instead.

So Lothran's an alchemist, then. Can he see all 4 ingredients?

Lothran is a Master alchemist since many years so yes, he can see all four. He btw just used the seeds to make a few of his custom poisons that he couldn't do in his last brewing due to the lack of the ingredient. It's a posion commonly used against goblin berserkers and other troublesome critters.

Lothran has been on a purge quest these last few days. He started off clearing out Plundered Mine, the day after that he took care of Capstone Cave and the road leading west past Hermaeus Mora's shrine. And yesterday he finished it off by paying the goblins of Silver Tooth Cave a visit as well as the hidden bandit camp and the road leading to the shrine of Azura.


Right now he's sitting at his dinner table after a good night's sleep and a job well done

Thanks to Lothran, Cyrodiil is a safer place.

Middas, mid-morning, Frost Fall 30, 4th Era Year 1 -- Lady Saga discovers Shattered Mine. New place for both of us. Packed with a mixture of NPCs to plunder & loot.

See, Lothran's not the only one Making Cyrodiil Great Again.™

Good to know Lothran doesn't have to do it all himself!

Lothran has just come home from another patrol to the west. This time it was a Daedroth guarding the path at the turning point.

Today the Jerall View got a visit from Algot the Northerner. Odd thing; when talking to him, he told Lothran about how Amantius Allectus is complaining about crime in the City. Normally when out-of-towners show up they talk about local stuff, but Algot brought news from home


Well, "news" ....

That's crazy. I just looked Algot up, he lives in the Imperial City. So you mean to say that Algot is still alive in Lothran's game, despite a lot of travel over the years?

Lothran is still in Bruma, right?

He's been coronated, as have many others in Lothran's world


For a couple more weeks, yes. When he leaves he's gonna take the long route through the Jeralls this time and approach Chorrol from the west. He hasn't done that in a long time now.

As we approach the last week in Bruma for the season, Lothran has begun thinking of doing his final preparations before leaving for Chorrol. He's coming down hard on the goblins in Plundered Mine and the bandits in Capstone Cave in order to keep things safe for as long as possible. He's also collecting whatever few ingredients he can find and have use of.

So this is the last regular weekend in Bruma and next Sunday he will walk through the Jeralls westward and clear it of riffraff on the way to Chorrol.



Another winter season under the belt

And another reliable sign that spring's a comin'!

Yes indeed!


Lothran spent the whole day wandering the Jeralls, not firing a single arrow or summoning his Spriggan. The area he covered was completely void of hostiles; a sign of a job well done. He collected some Milk Thistle seeds while wandering and he even came across a hidden chest which, unless I am very much mistaken, he has never seen before! In all the years!


It's inside some tall rocks just NW of Boreal Stone Cave and ENE of Echo Cave. Just before seeing it I literally thought to myself "that place looks like a perfect spot for a hidden chest". Two seconds later - BOOM!

That's never happened before! I suppose we should-- oops wrong thread.

It's February, which means I've been gaming with Joan of Arkay this month, but only for the past few days. Most of February I've been actually not gaming, due to my computer fiasco. But with Joan, she earned enough money to purchase the Dwemer Forge addition to Battlehorn Castle. Next she'll buy the Library upgrade, and finally the Wine Cellar.

All of these additions take money to purchase, and money means time. So she'll probably not finish building her Cyrodiilic home until deep into our summer.

Building your own home is always fun

Absolutely it is.

I added a Shrine of Arkay into Battlehorn's Great Hall. Because yes, Joan was wanting to have her very own Arkay shrine, which she can pray at any time.

Nice


-------------------

The 2021-2022 winter season in Bruma is coming to an end. Lothran has just cleared Plundered Mine one last time (only a few goblins and no loot) and is currently checking out the bandit camp on the road east of Bruma. Nothing to report.
Tomorrow he will make a final run on Capstone Cave before one last evening at Olav's Tap and Tack. Sundas morning he will leave town and the mountains behind and the snow and cold wind will be replaced with lush green and a slight, warm breeze. Chorrol awaits

Even a more sure sign of Spring! Woot!

Ladies and gentlemer; the Dunmer has left the Jeralls.



Fireplace was put out early in the morning. Lothran then proceeded to go downstairs and check that Snowflake was safe in its drawer before closing the bedroom door. Going upstairs, he emptied the chest and equipped whatever was needed for the journey before opening the front door and exiting his house for the last time this season.

And for the first time since he got there, there was no snowfall. Only clear skies and a slight breeze. Even the sun was beginning to come up in the horizon. Lothran made his way to the north gate and bade farewell to the guard standing there. Soon after that, the heavy gate closed shut behind him, and he had left Bruma.


It's always a strange sensation to walk through the Jeralls with no intention to come back to Bruma and Olav's Tap and Tack. Even stranger without any snowfall. But there he was; the white-haired Dunmer, again setting out to wander around Cyrodiil and see all the people he hasn't seen in a whole year. Chorrol is always first when leaving Bruma and this year is no exception.

Like other times though unlike last year, Lothran opted for a stop at Shadow's Rest Cavern situated right by a waterfall. With the Jerall Mountains way in the background and the lush, green forest in front of him, Lothran once again felt the adventure calling for him. And he was not one to be late with a reply.

'. . .and the lush, green forest in front of him. . . ' And a waterfall too!

Oh yeah, the waterfalls. So you didn't use a console command to turn snow back on? Kidding. That must be really mind-blowing to leave one environment in which Lothran has been living for so long, and experience the rest of Cyrodiil again.

I switched to Renee Gade III, because it is March. Every month I switch from character to character. Anyway she is in Kvatch. Since she lives 22 years after the Oblivion Crisis (is over!) ended Kvatch is a beautiful, fully functional place. She has her own home here. The town has its own arena so she just earned 500 doing an Arena fight.

That is exactly right. Having spent three months in the Jeralls with constant snowfall and alluvasudden it stops and you get to see green forests again, it's like playing a different game altogether! The difference isn't as big going to Bruma though, for whatever reason.

Also, I forgot to disclose Honmund's collected Clouded Funnel caps during this winter. When checking on December 2nd, Honmund had 469 samples. When checking yesterday he had a total of 503, meaning he'd collected 34 samples this season.


Glad to know I'm not the only one with traditions

First day out and about the Colovian Highlands, and immediately Lothran had to save the Courier from a bear and a bandit who seemed to have teamed up.

He then made some fuss over at Fort Reyles and progressed to re-explore Black Rock Cavern. Surprisingly I don't think we have fully explored that cave when reading up on it on the wiki. Think we have to get back there tomorrow!

Lothran is now way out in the boons and more specifically Fort Ontus which is not far from the Hammerfell border. If I'm correct he's never explored that place, most likely because it's quest-related. But he can still enjoy the magnificent view over the Colovian Highlands and even gaze upon Skingrad, way out in the distance, where he of course as always will spend time when Easter comes rolling in.


I still think it feels like we did this recently but it's been a full year!!

Nice, congrats on saving that courier.

I still think it feels like we did this recently but it's been a full year!

It's like deja vu, right?

Do you keep a list of places Lothran has been? I do, for Lady Saga's game. I have a specific notepad page in her folder which lists all the Ayleid Ruins, Caves, Mines, Forts, and so on. This was because when I originally rolled her in 2011, her goal was to visit every one of those places. From my perspective, I can then say "yes I have been to all the places in Cyrodiil". But the thing is, even after 10+ years we still haven't discovered every last place to discover.

No, I don't keep a list of the places he's been. I reckon if they have been discovered and thus appeared on the map, then he's been there


Right now he's at Brotch Camp btw and on his way to the Jemane brothes.



Edit: Just made save number 28000

Today was a big day, for today Lothran revealed the secret of Black Rock Caverns. Yes; in all his fifteen years of travelling Cyrodiil he has never come across this particular one. Sometimes he just doesnt' feel like exploring every nook and cranny in every dungeon he enters.



Author's note: I read about it briefly on the wiki this weekend but never in detail so I'm chalking this discovery up on Lothran hearing rumors in Chorrol and thus being able to find the secret

Mirocu, what kind of utility do you use to manage the A-bomb? I remember using Wrye Bash which did a superb job for that.

Wrye Bash always seemed way too complicated for me. I've always used something called OBSAF. You drop the exe in the folder with all the saves, hit it, and let it do its work. After it's done looking through which files that need a fix you simply hit Y on your keyboard to confirm. Simple as can be

Glad you've got something that works well for you. Wrye Bash was intimidating for many things but its A-bomb repair feature was delightfully simple. Just curious since I'm sure you've fixed lotsa A-bombs!

Lothran has fixed eleven A-bombs at this point and it feels like another one is just around the corner


-------------------

Just wandered around the Colovians today. Dispatched an ogre and a bandit although since we killed the ogre before spotting the bandit, we missed out on a spontaneous Arena fight!